Actress and Cambridge scholar Abigail Rokison wins the inaugural Shakespeare’s Globe Book Award

Abigail Rokison, well known for her role as Primrose Larkin in TV's The Darling Buds of May amongst others, is the winner of the first ever Shakespeare's Globe Book Award for her book, Shakespearean Verse Speaking, published by Cambridge University Press.

The Award is granted to a first monograph which has made an important contribution to the understanding of Shakespeare, his theatre, or his contemporaries.

Judged by a leading panel of academics and chaired by Dr Farah Karim-Cooper (Head of Courses and Research at Globe Education) the winner receives a £3000 cash prize and will deliver three lectures about her work supported by Globe actors at three prestigious venues: Shakespeare's Globe on October 10, the 2012 Times Cheltenham Literature Festival on October 11, and at the Shakespeare Institute later in the year.

Shakespearean Verse Speaking uses evidence from theatrical handbooks, performance practice and drama training to provide a synthesis of academic and theatrical approaches to Shakespearean text. In looking at theatrical interaction with early printed and modern edited texts, Rokison explores the potential impact of editorial principles of lineation and punctuation on actors' delivery of a text. Providing a fresh perspective on Renaissance actors parts, the book includes detailed analysis of the structural properties of verse.

Abigail began her career as a professional actor, training at LAMDA.  Her acting work includes numerous roles in theatre and television.  Following a degree with the Open University, undertaken whilst acting, she went on to take an MA in 'Shakespeare: Text and Playhouse' at Shakespeare's Globe / King's College London.  She completed her PhD in 'Shakespearean Verse Speaking' in the English faculty at Cambridge University in 2006 after which she became a lecturer in Drama and English in the Education Faculty in Cambridge and Director of Studies in English and Drama at Homerton College, Cambridge.

Patrick Spottiswoode, Director at Globe Education, explained the importance of the Shakespeare's Globe Book Award: "The Globe could not have been re-built without the painstaking research undertaken by Shakespeare scholars in the 1980s and 1990s. Since its opening in 1997, the Globe has become a place where leading international Shakespeare scholars have been able to share their scholarship with the general public.  The Shakespeare's Globe Book Award seeks to recognize and promote new scholarship. At a time when research impact is being measured and debated, the award is a timely celebration of the work of a new generation of scholars, encouraging them to share their pure research with a wider public"

ENDS

Notes to editors 

Shakespearean Verse Speaking: Text and Theatre Practice by Abigail Rokison (9781107404038) is published by Cambridge University Press, price £22.

About Shakespeare's Globe

Founded by the American actor and director, Sam Wanamaker, Shakespeare's Globe is a unique international resource dedicated to the exploration Shakespeare's work and the playhouse for which he wrote, through the connected means performance and education.

Together, the Globe Theatre, Globe Exhibition and Tour and Globe Education seek to further the experience and international understanding of Shakespeare in performance.

Globe Education is one of the largest arts education departments in the UK. Each year, more than 100,000 people of all ages and nationalities participate in Globe Education's programme of public events, workshops and courses. Globe Education also runs an extensive programme in the Southwark community and creates national and international outreach projects for students and teachers.

About Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Dedicated to excellence, its purpose is to further the University's objective of advancing knowledge, education, learning, and research.

Its extensive peer-reviewed publishing lists comprise 45,000 titles covering academic research, professional development, over 300 research journals, school-level education, English language teaching and bible publishing.

Playing a leading role in today's international market place, Cambridge University Press has over 50 offices around the globe, and it distributes its products to nearly every country in the world.